


Morally hangovered

by skinnyallie



Series: But if we go down, at least I'm in good company [5]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Marriage, brightwell daughter, my first attempt in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:07:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23542069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skinnyallie/pseuds/skinnyallie
Summary: They already had few conversations whether or not they should mention to Doctor Whitly about their marital status or about their baby. Malcolm was very protective and had no intentions of letting Dani pay Surgeon a visit, no matter professional or not. And she wished the same for him.Dani and Malocolm are facing problem in their marriage. Bright claims he has to go visit his father but everybody know he secetly likes the trauma Martin wakes in him.*various parts of this series don't need to be read in any kind of order; story is not linear from some point and time is an illusion*
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & Dani Powell, Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Series: But if we go down, at least I'm in good company [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671334
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	Morally hangovered

**Author's Note:**

> Aren't you tired of me thanking @claremontpsych ? Too bad, I'm doing this again! She once again edited my writing; also kept me going with the angst. It is my first time trying to write some sort of angst... It's not anything extreme, but I did my best.  
> If you were to place this thing in the timeline of the story, this would be set before the last scene in "New additions to the family".

It was a real hassle for Dani to insert the key precisely into the keyhole but she was doing her best. She had told Bright she could open the door to their loft and there was no way in hell for Dani to admit that she actually might have been wrong. Despite full concentration and deliberate, slow movements her sloppy attempts still were fruitless.

They were standing on top of the staircase, on the very last step, Malcolm right behind her. He was steadying her with his hands on her hips and waist and thighs. It was hard for Dani to focus and place in her mind where exactly his hands were at a given moment. All of this not because Malcolm was trying to be handsy, Dani was just constantly in the move, wobbling around and to keep her steady and safe on top of the stairs was a real challenge. Not trying to complain though, she really did enjoy the warmth of his palms on her body.

The struggle was real, interrupted by few occasional bursts of laughter caused by each failed attempt of aiming into the lock. Bright found it funny and entertaining to observe Dani’s tries of pretending she’s not as drunk as she actually was and for her to hear him happy was enough of a reason to giggle. But entering the place was the only option to get rid of the thread that the depth of the staircase behind them was and with her poorly coordinated movements they could fall down very easily.

“May I?”

Dani felt, rather than heard, a nonchalant whisper in her ear. Suddenly there was no distance between their bodies, his white button up shirt and her sequin dress being the only barrier. Bright’s hot breath on her thin and delicate skin underneath the ear made her heart skip a beat. Her brain wasn’t working properly after that amount of alcohol so she missed the moment when Malcolm pressed his body against her back. She immediately turned around in surprise and ended up pinned to the door, still on its wrong side.

“You didn’t even give me a proper chance to open it.”

Complaints were made in low voice, to match his whisper. She looked intensely into his eyes with fraudulent wrath, scrunching up her nose. He was staring back at her with glee on his face, that was way closer than she was expecting. 

“I did,” Malcolm answered calmly as his brow arched and chin dipped a little. With the fun he was having, displayed through his whole body language, a momentary huge desire to wipe that grin out of his stupid, pretty face was burning in her belly.

Her fogged with wine and gin and martini mind saw only one solution to that as she leaned in to kiss him. Bright got caught off guard and kissed her back as a reflex action, just to recall a few seconds later that while she was distracted it might be the right moment to extract the keys from her hand. Dani suspected nothing so he succeeded, slipping his fingers into her palm. With the item secured in his fisted hand, he separated himself from Dani’s passionate lips.

“Hey! I was gonna-”

The hand of his wife shot right after his, where the keys were, in accompaniment of her outrage. However, his arm stretched back, and was now beyond her reach. Malcolm wasn’t much taller than her but at that moment he possessed another advantage -  _ he was sober _ . Dani pouted when Bright reached over her shoulder to place the key and unlock the door. Their eyes were still locked as he let them in, got closer just to look deeper into them and smiled even wider. All this to build up the ambience so when he added in a conspiratory voice it made her boil from sweet frustration.

“Sure thing, babe.”

Without the support on her back Dani stepped backwards inside, guided by Malcolm’s arms on both sides of her waistline. Two steps in and she swiftly left his embrace, in a manner he could easily make out that she was still displeased by the whole door situation. Dani headed to the huge cage near the stairs to the upper floor, to check on Sunshine. The bird was sleeping so she did everything in her sabotaged-by-alcohol power to not disturb their pet’s peace.

Next thing, she walked over to the counter and placed herself on one of the stools, still bitter that supposedly Malcolm hadn’t given her a chance to open the door. So it wasn’t surprising when on her way she spitted under her nose one more name in his direction.

“Bastard.”

By the time Dani was seated he was already on the other side of the island, preparing for her glass of cold water. From the time he stepped inside and grabbed thin glass from the cabinet went only a minute, then another for the time it took to fill it up. Bright added a few ice cubes for good measure. Malcolm only huffed at the remark made by his wife and when facing her directly, answered:

“No, I assure you, my parents were married.”

The frustration of the teenage kind was radiating from Dani’s posture. She was leaning over the counter, observing Malcolm’s movements and microexpressions from underneath the curtain of her loose hair and false lashes. Those black eyes were fixed on her husband as he was walking around the kitchen. He handed the glass to her across the countertop, Dani was still daggering him with her stare. 

“Smartass.”

“That’s closer to the truth.”

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling as the scene that was unfolding was mirroring how their mornings looked typically. Dani’s seated, waiting to be served and Malcolm hustling to give her whatever she needs. And the ambience was very similar as well - as she was sulking, his drooling attitude poured into the area.

“That I know all about…”

Dani murmured quietly but something about it wasn’t matching her drunken temperament. Her eyes didn’t meet his but stayed fixed on glass between her palms, as she was lazily tracing its rim with her finger - where the wedding ring was placed that she was following with her gaze. Her shoulder muscles contracted, in fight or flight response. Dani was hyper aware of everything when in this state of alcoholic haze. Every breath in was tickling her with heatwaves up her nostrils, down the throat. Blood rushing through her body was radiating out of her and usually cold hands were kept hot due to capillaries all over her body now dilated.

Sudden change in her made Malcolm vigilant to seek for troubles. His eyes pierced through her in search for signs, what’s got in her head to cause her attitude to shift so rapidly. Joking went to a poorly hidden offence, as if she was expecting a fight with him for some time, but not truly wanting it, and so far was just masking it with frolics. Now however, it disappeared and the glow of tantrum was shining from her.

“Danielle, I love you--”

It truly wasn’t something Malcolm wanted to do right now - engage into a fight. He hoped whatever they had to deal with could wait till the morning when she’ll be sober and more aware of the words needed to be said. His natural reaction was to try to calm her down by something neutral, to keep her grounded to  _ status quo _ . And the most neutral thing that he could spot in his blanked by shock mind was declaration of his love for her.

“Don’t you dare use my full name!”

So that would be it for calming her down. While Malcolm couldn’t stand any short forms of his given name, Dani wasn’t a fan when people used her full name. She had real trouble adjusting to the reality where it was used almost on a regular daily basis by her in-laws. Bright knew she preferred Dani over Danielle but still, it slipped from time to time. And he knew exactly why he was like that - throughout the years the only man who used the short form of his mother’s name was his father and that man truly wasn’t one Malcolm wanted to imitate in his marriage. Dani straightened, preparing herself for the attack but Malcolm wasn’t sure if she expected to attack or be attacked.

“I do love you, but you’re drunk and right now this conversation doesn’t have any sense.”

Bright continued in a peaceful manner, still hoping to achieve a ceasefire for tonight. Whatever matter was haunting her, he was confident that it’s safer to talk it through in the morning, when sobriety will be back in her mind.

“For you!”

That is how the screaming match began, and Malcolm picked up the fight.

“And for you?!”

“You just said you love me,” he had no idea why it sounded like an accusation, but it clearly was one.

“I married you a year ago!”

To the date. They exchanged vows exactly a year ago and tonight Dani went out with Ainsley, for the first time since she gave birth. It was a thing she asked for - to have a night out, out of this place, out of this life - where he was. Ains was confused to the core why Dani would choose to spend their first anniversary with her and not with Bright but knew better than to ask. So when the request from her sister-in-law came, Ainsley just rolled with it. After maybe a drink too much, Malcolm came and picked her up and here they were.

“And for weeks now, you are hiding something from me,” the new coldness in her voice was even scarier than anger before. “Are you sleeping around or what?”

His eyes dropped to the space between them, ashamed of what was to be said. Malcolm knew how Dani could come to such conclusions - he was away for too long, too often. They worked together and it wasn’t smart of him to try and hide anything. His lies that all those times he was with his mother or sister could only go for so long…

At that point Malcolm hoped the truth could see the light only party and decided to do an act of sharing about the thing that was nagging him for weeks now. So he ignored the question and gave her a real reason for his recent numbness.

“I have to go see him.”

They both knew what he was referring to. Or rather who.

“No.” she forbade firmly.

At that moment Dani really preferred if he had been cheating on her. Malcolm allegedly wasn’t seeing his father for as long as their daughter was alive and he was doing a little better than before. Everyone wished the progress was faster but that way it was safer, if taken steps were little; and it still was getting him closer to the ultimate goal.

“It’s not negotiable, Dani. We are stuck in the middle of investigation, going nowhere. We need his insight,” the desperation coloured his voice; he wanted to go no matter how much he tried to convince everyone, including himself, otherwise.

“I’ll go.”

“No.”

They already had few conversations whether or not they should mention to Doctor Whitly about their marital status or about their baby. Malcolm was very protective and had no intentions of letting Dani pay Surgeon a visit, no matter professional or not. And she wished the same for him.

“I’m not asking you, Bright. Those visits, they have been destroying you and that’s the problem.”

“If you looking for problem, it’s more likely I am one--”

“And you can’t be fixed? I heard that before.” At that point Dani was tired of him and his excuses and decided to go to sleep. “Bullshit. Goodnight”

Picking up her glass she staggered to the bed, getting mentally ready to the hangover the next day. She drank a lot, probably too much but it was working - the whole night with Ainsley concerns about Malcolm hadn’t coloured her thought. If he was the topic of their conversations it was only to lovingly make fun of him. But in the middle of her way there, something changed and she turned around to face him.

“Actually, no. While we’re at it. Were you planning on telling me you have been seeing him?”

He acted like a child caught on stealing cookies, terrified he was spotted but not regretting his doing a bit. Those icy blue eyes didn’t meet hers which burned with disgust. 

“You promised you will take better care of yourself, Malcolm.” Now the aggression entwisted itself with pain so real, the tears glistened in her eyes. “Not visiting your father included! And you knew-” the voice broke which caused Malcolm to gather courage and have a look at the pain displayed in front of him in the form of his wife. “-you  _ knew  _ when you promised me that, that you still would be seeing him, either way. You deliberately had lied to me.”

“You’re drunk…”

“Oh! But I am not stupid. Guess alcohol just let me openly address the problem. No, Malcolm, the problem is not you, but that doesn’t mean you **_can_** be fixed.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You are broken, Malcolm. You let that man cut you really,  _ really  _ deep. And then, when he leaves you all drained out, you come back to us! To Jessica, to Gil, to  _ me _ ! All bloodied and hurt. I married you, for better and for worse. But I won't let you anywhere near Jackie if you won’t stop this madness.”

“Don’t you think you are a little over dramatic?”

“You enjoy it, Malcolm. Admit it, you like when Martin twists you and causes you pain. You’re sick. You need help.”

“I’m sorry I’m like this!”

“Screw you, Bright!” The glass she was walking around with in her hand flew in his direction. 

Shock displayed itself in his eyes but in Dani’s- she was steady and very confident in what she just did. Dani was a great detective and years of working for the NYPD taught her how to aim so the thing ended precisely where she wanted it.

“ _ This  _ is not about you. For fuck’s sake, you are as narcissistic as Martin…  _ This  _ is about Jackie, you moron. All I want is for her to be safe! And she’s not when you keep including your serial killer father into our family. Don’t you want the same?” Now she was just spitting words, disgusted by them. “The sins of your father don’t define you Malcolm, but you are doing a hell of a job of collecting your own.”

Malcolm froze in jolt, trapped in the kitchen between thousands of small pieces of shattered glass and wet stains. His tremor was back, stronger than usual. He couldn’t collect his thoughts because he was guilty of all the accusations that flew from the mouth of his wife. A wife that now headed to the bathroom, apparently sobered up enough to pick up her typical nightly routine.

He couldn’t see her from around the corner when he heard words spoken with quiet pain.

"Ainsley says the decade in D.C., when you hadn't been seeing your father was the healthiest you had even been. And you did that for your  **_job_ ** , for the FBI. But you can't do it for your own daughter, Malcolm. That's disgusting."

She slammed the door to the bathroom, to try and rinse any anger and sorrow left in her. And when she stepped out of it Malcolm was nowhere to be found but honestly she couldn't care less. She didn't regret what she said; the only thing she did regret was how all her words made him feel. She loved him beyond comparison but it was necessary to cut him to get some reaction. 

***

When Dani woke up the next day the morning was long gone. By the position of the Sun so high up in the sky she could only bet it was shortly after noon. The consciousness was coming back to her aching soul in steady waves. First Dani became aware of the weight of the covers she was sleeping under, then she took in the softness of the pillow her head lay on. She diagnosed the pounding between her temples as bearable, but the sandpaper which was her tongue was not.

It took an extra few seconds for Dani to process events of last night and that because of them there wasn't a glass of water within her reach. The one she intended to leave on her nightstand was disposed of, in the emphasis that she has no intention of taking any more of Malcolm’s bullshit. An unpleasant groan left from her mouth, muffed by the pillow.

At first she thought to herself the thirst was what woke her up but then, through the clouds of her hangover, noises started reaching her consciousness. It took Dani longer than usual to process the environment due to post-alcoholic haze that still dwelled in her brain. Whispers of sweet nothings and jolly baby cooing were filling the apartment.

Before she lifted herself up, Dani studied her surroundings from the lying position. What stood up to her the most was the fact she wasn’t on her side of the bed. Truth be told she couldn’t recall whether or not it was her decision or it just happened, but Dani was tucked on the edge closer to the door, while usually her spot was to the window. Further inspection led to noticing a glass of water on the nightstand. Her heart ached at that sight.

In a half-sitting position, she looked down to the living area of the loft and her eyes landed on a moment so sweet and beautiful, a shy smile displayed itself on her still sleepy face. Malcolm, with little Jackie on top of his chest. They were laying in the middle of the typical-for-this-place chaos. A huge soft blanket was lying next to the aggregation of toys and plushies, hidden under the stairs. Around them countless colorful, harmless but unidentified objects for a child were cluttering the floor. Some bottles and little jars here and there as proof of a few already consumed meals.

Jackie was left for the last night with her grandmother and it looked like Malcolm had to pick her up earlier in the day, when Dani was still soundly sleeping, recovering from girls’ night out. Jessica loved having her granddaughter around and volunteered a long time ago to take care of her for their anniversary night. Little did she know the night was meant to be a total and utter disaster and they were to spend it separately. From what Dani had learned about her mother-in-law, Malcolm probably had a serious talk with her in the morning, with outcome not to be predicted.

They were having a conversation, Dani could easily judge by the tone of Bright’s voice, but she couldn’t quite make out the words. Sweet seconds passed as she was just looking at them, trying to figure out what her husband was going on about. Malcolm was claiming talking to children helped in their brains development, he then added some scientific arguments why he’s right. Since the day Dani’s pregnant bump was unmistakable for anything else, he fought his awkwardness and started chatting with the baby. It had to work because the baby till that day was calming down just listening to his voice.

And then, in the middle of his rambling about some theory in forensic psychology, Malcolm caught from the corner of his eye that the position of his wife changed since he last laid his eyes on her sleeping silhouette. Their gazes locked, lingering the moment, they broke it off. Looking into each other's eyes a little too long for the unspoken things to stay buried, all the problems from last night came to the surface. Shiver went down Malcolm’s spine and his eyes moved to Jackie’s, the same blue as his.  _ Extraordinary, _ his only thought as he took in the beauty of his offspring.

“I think we have woken Mommy up, Sweetie.”

His conspiratorial whisper made her recall the moment, long ago, when he spoke to her in a similar manner, when he was high on Estime’s drugs. His joy as an answer received clueless cooling. It made Dani feel her heart grow in warmth and love. There was something magical in Malcolm Bright in the role of the father. He loved so dearly and unconditionally; was ready to compromise his whole life for that little creature on top of him. But one exception.

The little body of their child started frantically wiggling, when Jackie somehow acquired the fact her mother is now available for cuddles. Her little torso was twisting and turning until she almost fell off of Malcolm. Both parents chuckled at the desperation of their baby girl. Dani couldn’t take in more sweetness, devastated by the stings of her remorse. She laid down, staring blankly up to the ceiling. Her heart was heavy with the pain she inflicted onto Malcolm last evening but it had to be done.

“I get it, you want to go to your mom!” It was easy for Dani to imagine how he tried to get up and contain Jackie’s excitement. “We’re onto it, you little Rascal!”

The noises of Malcolm’s bare feet were closer and closer to her, as the two of them were approaching the bed. Close proximity of others forces Dani to blink quickly a few times in order to get rid of the teary fog from her vision.

Before she had any chance to get up and welcome Jackie in her arms, the baby was flying above her, giggling madly. Malcolm swung her above Dani a few more times for good measure, and she landed on the right. As the loving signs of affection were exchanged between mother and daughter, Malcolm nested himself on the floor near Dani's knees, to keep the distance. He knew he deserved much more the glass yesterday; and he knew it was really just a warning signal. Now, when she was armed with another one, things didn’t really look-- pun intended-- bright for him.

It took Dani some time to peel Jackie off of her, but afterwards the girl quite quickly occupied her mind with something else, wandering on top of the soft and fluffy covers in her parents’ bed. Tiny fear that she might fall from the bed dwelled in Dani’s stomach but she turned around to face Malcolm.

A too long moment of silence, when he wasn’t looking at her but at Jackie, made it clear he was nervous to meet her gaze. She spoke first, daggering him, silently begging for his attention to shift. It would be easier if she could see his reactions to what she was saying, as she was saying it.

“I’m sorry about last night…”

Dani started off quietly but he snapped at her, as if in an attempt to shake off some unpleasant things.

“No, I am the one who owes you an apology,” confidence in his voice made her back off. The speech was coming. “You are absolutely right, unfortunately,” soft chuckling and a head shake.

“I need those visits even though they are destroying me. But I don’t want to be destroyed, I have you two to take care of. Yeah, you will be fine, but she-- she will be  _ not _ .”

“If all it takes to make you realize something is to just throw something in the direction of your head I need to tell this Gill.”

The atmosphere unthickened itself with little jokes incorporated. Dani lifted herself up on her elbow, in the meantime checking on the little person to her right now tangled in the sheets, and reached to caress Malcolm’s cheek with tips of her icy fingers.

"You are drowning, and I- when I became your wife- I made a declaration I will fight to keep your head above the water, because that's what marriage is. But motherhood is a whole other story, Malcolm,” she said softly with affection. “I will not drown with you because I have to keep her  _ out  _ of those deep dark seas of monsters and traumas."

His puppy look gained her smile. Bright’s eyes were full of guilt and many more things Dani had yet to understand. But when he asked she knew they would have all the time in the world, all three of them.

“Will you go and consult with him?”

That was a huge step toward recovery. But not as huge as Dani’s smile at that moment, observed by two pairs of those bright eyes.


End file.
